Ropehold and noose



Jan. 19, 1965 B. H. STANSBURY, JR.. ETAL 3,165,801

ROPEHOLD AND NOQSE Filed March 9, 1962 Patented .i an. 19, 1955 United States Patent ()fitice 3,165,801 ROPEHOLD AND NOOSE Bengamin H. Stanshury,-Jr., San Francisco, Calif., and

Idngh Patrick Thornton, In, Newfoundland, N.J., assignors to The Hartford Company, Hartford, Coma, a corporation of Connecticut Filed Mar. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 178,778

6 (Jlaims. (Cl. 24134) 7 This invention relates to noose constructions and clamping means forming components thereof, and more in particular to clamping arrangements for holding bundles of clothes during the washing operations in a commercial laundry.

An object of this invention is to provide improved rope holding means. Another object is to provide an improved mechanism for holding a bundle of clothes or the like. Another object is to provide a rope holding mechanism which is adapted to hold the rope tightly but which is easily manipulated to tighten or release the rope. Another object is to provide an improved noose construction. A further object is to provide for the above with structures which are simple and inexpensive to manufacture and which are not damaged by normal use. A further object is to provide devices and constructions of the above character which are adaptable to varying conditions of use. These and other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out below.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation of one embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view of the clamping device in FIGURE 1 with the outer shell broken away;

FIGURES 3 and 4 are sectional views on the lines 3-3 and 44, respectively, of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a greatly enlarged view of the left-hand portion of FIGURE 4; and,

FIGURE 6 is a somewhat diagramatic view illustrating the relationship between the teeth on the movable clamping member.

Referring to FIGURE 1 of the'drawings, noose 2 is formed by a rope 4 and a clamping unit 6 to which one end 7 of the rope is anchored and through which the rope is drawn to tighten the noose. In this embodiment, rope 2 is a Number 5 rope of .156 inch in diameter with ten picks per inch and having a Dacron core and a spun nylon cover. The illustrative embodiment is a device or mechanism for holding laundry during the washing operations in a commercial laundry. Accordingly, several mens shirts arep laced side-by-side through noose 2, and the end 8 of rope 4 is drawn through clamp 6 so as to reduce the size of the noose and clamp the shirts in the noose; and, the bundle remains intact during the entire washing and rinsing operations. When these operations are completed, clamp 6 is released so as to permit the end 8 of the rope to be pulled back through the clamp, thus enlarging the noose again so that the shirts may be removed from the noose.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, clamp 6 is formed by a shell 12 and a movable clamping member 14 swingably mounted therein. Shell 12 has two parallel side walls 11 and 13 and two end walls 15 and 17. End wall 17 has a transverse ledge portion 16 which presents a bearing surface 18 which is a segment of a cylinder. Clamping member 14 is snugly received between side walls 11 and 13 and has a notch 20 at the right which has a bearing surface mating with surface 18. Hence member 14 rocks within shell 12 about a pivot axis 21, illustratively between the positions shown in full lines and broken lines. End wall 15 of shell 12 has a channel like inner surface 22 which is a segment of a cylinder, and the bottom of Wall 15 is flared outwardly at 23. The left-hand side of cam member 14 has a plurality of teeth 24 to 28 which (see FIGURE 6) are of progressively decreasing radii when considered with respect to the pivot axis 21.

Clamping member 14 has a handle portion 30 with a finger hole 32 therein which may be grasped to move the clamping member with respect to 'shell 12. Clamping member 14 also has a rope anchor formed by a transverse slot 34 (see FIGURES, '2, 3 and 4) and a downwardly extending bore 36. 'The extreme end 7 of rope 4 is threaded through opening 36 into slot 34 and is bent double so as to be held between the side walls11 and 130i the shell. This provides a secure anchor for the endof the rope when clamping member 14 is positioned within the shell. However, the rope end 7 may be removed by swinging the clamping member clockwise in FIGURE 2 and Withdrawing it from the shell, whereupon the rope end is straightened and pulled mate size desired. As indicated above, material such as a bundle of shirts is placed through the noose and the rope end 8 is drawn upwardly so as to tighten the noose. The tightening of the noose acts through the rope end 7 to pull member 14 downwardly in the shell around the pivot axis 21 toward the full line position. This urges the teeth 24 to 28 against the side of the rope end 8 so as to clamp the rope against wall 22, with the teeth tending to bite into the rope. However, the lower surfaces of the teeth are cam-like so that an upward pull on the rope tends to lift member 14 so that the rope slides past the teeth. The top surfaces of the teeth are radial with respect to the pivot axis 21 so that they project into the rope and tend to prevent relative movement of the rope downwardy. Also, the progressively increasing radii of the teeth from 28 to 24, and the relative position of surface 22, cause a gradual tightening of the clamping action as member 14- swings counter-clock- Therefore, when rope end 8 is pulled to tighten the noose on the material, the rope end 8 slides upwardly without interference by the cam teeth and member 14 is pulled downwardly by the action of rope end 7. When the pulling action of rope end 8 is released the cam teeth are pulled downwardly by the resilient action of the material being clamped so as to tighten the clamping action, and the material within the noose is securely held. Yet it can be released by pulling upon rope end 8 and lifting member 14 and then releasing rope 8.

It has been found that the construction of the illustrative embodiment is practical and satisfactory under extreme conditions of use. The rope end 8 slides along the flared surface 23 without scraping or excessive friction. By constructing the shell 12 and clamping member 14 of rigid but somewhat resilient plastic the rope is securely held, and the wear and damage during use is at a minimum. The rope has long life, but it may be readily replaced when desirable. Special advantages also result from the use of the specific rope identified above.

What we claim is:

1. A noose-clamp construction comprising, a shell having a pair of side walls and a pair of end walls one of which presents a clamping surface against which a rope may be clamped, a clamping member mounted within said shell, said shell having a ledge portion which presents a bearing surface and said clamping member presenting a bearing surface which mates therewith thereby to pro- (:9 vide limited rocking movement of said clamping membe within said shell, said clamping member having a ropeengaging surface which extends along said clamping surface of the shell and is separated therefrom by a rope passageway, the rocking movement of said clamping member moving said rope-engaging surface with one component of movement being parallel to said clamping surface and another component thereof being transverse thereto whereby the clamping member may be moved to and from a position wherein it clamps a rope against said clamping surface, said clamping member having rope-anchor means positioned substantially between said rope-engaging surface and the mating surfaces which form the rockable mounting for said clamping member, and a rope having one end anchored in said rope-anchor means of said clamping member and its other end extending through said rope passageway between said clamping surface and said rope-engaging surface and with the intermediate portion of the rope forming a noose toward which said rope clamping portion moves when said rope-engaging surface is moved toward said clamping surface, whereby tightening of said noose about materials causes said clamping member to be moved toward its rope-clamping position by the action of a pulling force exerted by said anchored end of said rope substantially between said rope-engaging surface and the rockable mounting of said clamping member.

2. A noose construction as described in claim 1, wherein said shell and said clamping member are formed of plastic and wherein said rope has a Dacron core and a spun nylon cover.

3. The noose construction as described in claim 1, wherein said rope-engaging portion is formed by a plurality of teeth at progressively increasing radii with respect to said pivot axis, with each tooth having one radial surface and one cam surface.

4. A noose construction as described in claim 1, wherein said anchored end of said rope is anchored in said clamping member by an extreme end portion doubled upon itself and wherein said rope-anchor means is formed by a pocket for said extreme end portion of the rope in the form of a slot in said clamping member between the side walls of said shell.

5. A noose construction as described in claim 4, wherein said clamping surface is a segment of a cylinder and wherein said clamping member has a ring portion which may be grasped manually.

6. A noose construction as described in claim 1, wherein said rope clamping portion includes a plurality of teeth each of which presents a substantially straight edge trans versely of said rope.

References Cited in the fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 362,772 Mitchell et a1 May 10, 1887 449,099 Abbiati Mar. 31, 1891 1,122,600 Keckeissen et al. Dec. 29, 1914 1,268,621 Repp June 4, 1918 1,671,414 Durand May 29, 1928 1,686,581 Stewart Oct. 9, 1928 3,007,220 Hafner et al NOV. 7, 1961 3,030,851 Meyer Apr. 24, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,025,080 France Jan. 21, 1953 1,248,273 France Oct. 31, 1960 825,627 Great Britain Dec. 16, 1959 

1. A NOOSE-CLAMP CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING, A SHELL HAVING A PAIR OF SIDE WALLS AND A PAIR OF END WALLS ONE OF WHICH PRESENTS A CLAMPING SURFACE AGAINST WHICH A ROPE MAY BE CLAMPED, A CLAMPING MEMBER MOUNTED WITHIN SAID SHELL, SAID SHELL HAVING A LEDGE PORTION WHICH PRESENTS A BEARING SURFACE AND SAID CLAMPING MEMBER PRESENTING A BEARING SURFACE WHICH MATES THEREWITH THEREBY TO PROVIDE LIMITED ROCKING MOVEMENT OF SAID CLAMPING MEMBER WITHIN SAID SHELL, SAID CLAMPING MEMBER HAVING A ROPEENGAGING SURFACE WHICH EXTENDS ALONG SAID CLAMPING SURFACE OF THE SHELL AND IS SEPARATED THEREFROM BY A ROPE PASSAGEWAY, THE ROCKING MOVEMENT OF SAID CLAMPING MEMBER MOVING SAID ROPE-ENGAGING SURFACE WITH ONE COMPONENT OF MOVEMENT BEING PARALLEL TO SAID CLAMPING SURFACE AND ANOTHER COMPONENT THEREOF BEING TRANSVERSE THERETO WWHEREBY THE CLAMPING MEMBER MAY BE MOVED TO AND FROM A POSITION WHEREIN IT CLAMPS A ROPE AGAINST SAID CLAMPING SURFACE, SAID CLAMPING MEMBER HAVING ROPE-ANCHOR MEANS POSITIONED SUBSTANTIALLY BETWEEN SAID ROPE-ENGAGING SURFACE AND THE MATING SURFACWS WHICH FORM THE ROCKABLE MOUNTING FOR SAID CLAMPING MEMBER, AND A ROPE HAVING ONE END ANCHORED IN SAID ROPE-ANCHOR MEANS OF SAID CLAMPING MEMBER AND ITS OTHER END EXTENDING THROUGH SAID ROPE PASSAGEWAY BETWEEN SAID CLAMPING SURFACE AND SAID ROPE-ENGAGING SURFACE AND WITH THE INTERMEDIATE PORTION OF THE ROPE FORMING A NOOSE TOWARD WHICH SAID ROPE CLAMPING PORTION MOVES WHEN SAID ROPE-ENGAGING SURFACE IS MOVED TOWARD SAID CLAMPING SURFACE, WHEREBY TIGHTENING OF SAID NOOSE ABOUT MATERIALS CAUSES SAID CLAMPING MEMBER TO BE MOVED TOWARD ITS ROPE-CLAMPING POSITION BY THE ACTION OF A PULLING FORCE EXERTED BY SAID ANCHORED END OF SAID ROPE SUBSTANTIALLY BETWEEN SAID ROPE-ENGAGING SURFACE AND THE ROCKABLE MOUNTING OF SAID CLAMPING MEMBER. 